The Impact of Affirmative Action on the Employment of Minorities and Women over Three Decades: 1973-2003

What role has affirmative action played in the growth of minority and female employment in U.S. firms? This paper analyzes this issue by comparing the employment of minorities and women at firms holding federal contracts and therefore mandated to implement affirmative action, and at noncontracting firms, over the course of three decades spanning 1973–2003. It constitutes the first study to comprehensively document the long-term impact of affirmative action in federal contracting on the U.S. employment landscape. The study uses a new panel data set of over 100,000 large private-sector firms across all industries and regions, obtained from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and it exploits rich variation across firms in the timing of federal contracting to identify affirmative action effects. The paper’s key results indicate that the primary beneficiaries of affirmative action in federal contracting over 1973–2003 were black and Native American women and men. Analysis of the dynamics of workforce composition around the time of contracting reveals that a large part of the effect of affirmative action on increasing protected group shares occurred within the first four years of gaining a contract, and that these increased shares persisted even after a firm was no longer a federal contractor. The paper also uncovers important results on how the impact of affirmative action evolved over 1973–2003. In particular, it finds that the fastest growth in the employment shares of minorities and women at federal contractors relative to noncontracting firms occurred during the 1970s and early 1980s, decelerating substantially in ensuing years

What Types of Diversity Benefit Workers? Empirical Evidence on the Effects of Co-Worker Dissimilarity on the Performance of Employees

This paper explores the consequences of grouping workers into diverse divisions on the performance of employees using a dataset containing the detailed personnel records of a large U.S. firm from 1989-1994. In particular, I examine the effects of demographic dissimilarity among co-workers, namely differences in age, gender and race among employees who work together within divisions, and non-demographic dissimilarity, namely differences in education, work function, firm tenure, division tenure, performance and wages among employees within divisions. I find evidence that age dissimilarity, dissimilarity in firm tenure, and performance dissimilarity are associated with lower worker performance, while wage differences are associated with higher worker performance. My analysis also reveals that the effects of certain types of dissimilarities get smaller in magnitude the longer a worker is a part of a division. Finally, the paper provides evidence that the relationships between performance and the various measures of dissimilarity vary by occupational area and division size

The effect of university campuses on the spatial cultures of two mid-sized towns: A comparative study of Nottingham, UK and Eskisehir, Turkey

This study focuses on the effects that university campuses and the presence of students has had on the growth and economy of two mid-sized cities. It examines the extent to which the existence of university campuses affects their local economies, and attempts to define the contribution of students to urban sustainability. Students are discussed in the context of university cities as examples of 'creative cities', so attractive to urban decision-makers. The university itself is presented as a 'creative industry', an indicator for socio-economically sustainable cities. The research then describes how universities manifest their roles in the public realm in a spatial way. To do so, two case studies are presented, Nottingham (UK) and Eskisehir (Turkey), which are similar in terms of demography and the location of their campuses. The study investigates both the relationship of campus locations with their surrounding areas, and the relationships that students have with their cities and local populations, using historical and contemporary maps, land use surveys, on site observations and questionnaire results about user activities. The research examines the historical development of the university areas in the case-study cities in terms of their spatial structure and social morphology. The campus areas are divided into three categories according to their location in the city: the 'city centre', 'edge of the city' and 'outside of the city'. The locations of student accommodation are also mapped. The main analysis explores the emergent relationships of campuses and student areas to urban centres, using space syntax measures of network accessibility and area users routes. The aim of the study is to better grasp the relationship between campus and city by considering the presence and the distribution of university buildings and students in urban space in historical perspective. It highlights a better understanding of how student populations affect the socio-economic development of cities, can contribute to a better comprehension of the 'creative city' and the 'sustainable city'

Cranial diffusion-MRI interpretation: comparison of emergency medicine and radiology residents

INTRODUCTION: Today diagnosis and treatment of ischaemic stroke is based on cranial CT and MR. The aim of this study is to measure the ability of emergency medical and radiology resident physicians to evaluate brain diffusion MRI and to provide better and faster recognition of the vital condition of acute ischaemic cerebrovascular infarct patients.  MATERIAL AND METHODS: 10 radiology and 10 emergency medicine residents were enrolled in the study. Of the 50 brain diffusion MRIs interpreted by trainees, 3 were normal, 13 had cerebral infarct, 27 had lacunar infarct, 3 had brain mass, 2 had hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy, 1 had MS and 1 had dermoid cyst. Each participant evaluated 50 digital diffusion MR images sequentially. They were asked to indicate whether there was a pathological lesion on the images, if the lesion was acute or chronic, what was the localization of the lesion, and ultimately the possible preliminary diagnosis.  RESULTS: Experienced radiology resident physicians are found to be more accurate in determining MR results in comparison to their inexperienced colleagues in cerebral and lacunar infarcts (p < 0.01) but for noninfarct images, no difference was found between two groups (p > 0.05). Radiology residents outperformed emergency residents in both cerebral and lacunar infarct and non-infarct images (p < 0.01).  CONCLUSIONS: In the study authors’ opinion training and education is a must for MRI interpretation for emergency residents which might be vital for ischaemic cerebrovascular patients

Evaluation of host resistance inducers and conventional products for fire blight management in loquat and quince

Fire blight disease is one of the most destructive diseases of pome fruits. Due to the lack of effective, non-phytotoxic and publicly acceptable materials for controlling fire blight in pome fruit trees, new strategies to manage Erwinia amylovora fire blight are being sought. The resistance-inducing compounds prohexadione-Ca, harpin protein and benzothiadiazole (acibenzolar-S-methyl), the fertilizer humic acid, the bactericides streptomycin and copper salts, and combinations of copper with chemicals were evaluated for their ability to control fire blight on quince and loquat cultivars. Prohexadione-Ca was applied at a rate of 125 mg L-1 at two shoot lengths (6-12 cm and 15-20 cm), while benzothiadiazole + metalaxyl (135 mg L-1) and harpin (50 mg L-1) were applied when the shoots measured between 15-20 cm, and again at 30-35 cm. On loquat cv. Cukurgobek, benzothiadiazole + metalaxyl showed about 60% effectiveness. The addition of copper salts reduced the effectiveness of benzothiadiazole + metalaxyl. On quince cultivars, streptomycin (P ≤ 0.05) was the most effective treatment during both years, followed by the harpin protein alone and in combination with copper salts. Prohexadione-Ca, benzothiadiazole + metalaxyl, and harpin protein applications reduced disease severity on inoculated shoots compared with copper and untreated controls. Prohexadione-Ca reduced both shoot length and shoot blight on the two hosts. Humic acid applications were ineffective in controlling fire blight on loquat and quince cultivars. Quince cv. Eşme showed lower disease severity than cv. Ekmek (P ≤ 0.05). The use of resistance-inducing substances during the early phase of shoot growth may offer a means of managing the shoot blight phase of fire blight disease on quince and loquat.La brûlure bactérienne est l'une des maladies les plus néfastes chez les fruits à pépins. En l'absence de produits efficaces, non phytotoxiques et socialement acceptables pour lutter contre cette maladie causée par Erwinia amylovora chez les pomoïdées, de nouvelles stratégies sont recherchées. La capacité de certains composés pouvant induire de la résistance (prohéxadione-Ca, protéine harpine et benzothiadiazole (acibenzolar-S-méthyle)), de l'acide humique utilisé en tant que fertilisant, de bactéricides (streptomycine et sel de cuivre), ainsi que des combinaisons de cuivre et de produits chimiques à lutter contre la brûlure bactérienne chez des cultivars de néflier du Japon et de cognassier a été évaluée. La prohéxadione-Ca a été appliquée à un taux de 125 mg L-1 sur deux longueurs de pousses (6-12 cm et 15-20 cm), tandis que le benzothiadiazole + métalaxyl (135 mg L-1) et l'harpine (50 mg L-1) ont été appliqués sur des pousses alors qu'elles mesuraient entre 15 et 20 cm, puis à nouveau alors qu'elles mesuraient entre 30 et 35 cm. Chez le néflier du Japon cv. Cukurgobek, un taux d'efficacité d'environ 60 % a été obtenu avec le benzothia- diazole + métalaxyl; cependant, l'ajout de sel de cuivre en a réduit l'efficacité. Sur les cultivars de cognassier, la protéine harpine, utilisée seule et en combinaison avec le sel de cuivre, s'est avérée le traitement le plus efficace durant les deux années de l'étude, après la streptomycine (P ≤ 0.05). La prohéxadione-Ca, le benzothiadiazole + métalaxyl et les protéines harpines ont réussi à réduire la gravité de la maladie chez des pousses inoculées comparativement aux témoins traités au cuivre et aux témoins non traités. La prohéxadione-Ca a réduit à la fois la longueur et la brûlure des pousses chez les deux hôtes. Les applications d'acide humique n'ont pas réussi à réduire l'incidence de la brûlure bactérienne chez les cultivars de néflier du Japon et de cognassier. Le cognassier cv. Eşme a été moins gravement affecté par la maladie que le cv. Ekmek (P ≤ 0.05). L'utilisation de substances pouvant induire de la résistance durant la phase initiale de croissance des pousses peut être une façon de lutter contre la brûlure des pousses causée par la brûlure bactérienne chez le cognassier et le néflier du Japon

MILD HYDROTHERMAL SYNTHESIS, CRYSTAL STRUCTURE AND MORPHOLOGY OF LiV2O5

Anode materials with high storage capacity and high power density attract considerable interest because of recent advances in Li-ion battery used electronic devices. Vanadium based oxides are the one possible group. LiV2O5 was synthesized by hydrothermal method at 3 days (72 hours) and 180 ºC. Structural characterization was performed by powder X-ray diffraction, fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Morphology was scanned by scanning electron microscopy with energy disperse X-ray analysis. The first time synthesized material is crstallisized in orthorombic system with unit cell parameters a = 11.31, b = 9.552, c = 3.585  and space group Pmn21 (31)

What Types of Organizations Benefit from Team Production, and How Do They Benefit?

[Excerpt] Using data from a large cross section of British establishments, we ask how different firm characteristics are associated with the predicted benefits to organizational performance from using team production. To compute the predicted benefits from using team production, we estimate structural models for financial performance, labor productivity, and product quality, treating the firm’s choices of whether or not to use teams and whether or not to grant teams autonomy as endogenous. One of the main results is that many firm characteristics are associated with larger predicted benefits from teams to labor productivity and product quality but smaller predicted benefits to financial performance. For example, this is true for union recognition as measured by the number of recognized unions in an establishment. Similarly, when a particular firm characteristic is associated with lower benefits from teams to labor productivity or product quality, the same characteristic is frequently associated with higher predicted benefits to financial performance. This is true for the degree of financial participation and employee ownership and also for establishment size and a number of industries. These results highlight the advantages of analyzing broader measures of organizational performance that are more inclusive of the wide spectrum of benefits and costs associated with teams than the labor productivity measures frequently studied in the teams literature

An Integrated Model for an Oil Free Carbon Dioxide Compressor Using Sanderson-Rocker Arm Motion Mechanism

The multi-piston axial reciprocating compressor using the Sanderson-Rocker Arm Motion (S-RAM) mechanism is expected to have high volumetric efficiencies due to the application of a new type of seal to prevent the in-cylinder refrigeration gas leaking through the clearance between piston and cylinder wall. The stroke of the compressor can be controlled by adjusting the inclination angle between the connecting shaft and machine driving shaft. This allows the control of the delivered refrigerant mass flow rate to match the capacity requirement in the field. A comprehensive simulation model for a prototype reciprocating compressor using the S-RAM mechanism has been developed. The natural refrigerant carbon dioxide (CO2) is used as the working fluid. The comprehensive model is comprised of a kinematics model, compression process model, dynamics model and an overall energy balance model. In the kinematics model, the movement of the piston is given including its displacement, velocity and acceleration. It is found that the moving path of the center of the ball in the ball-socket joint is moving around a corresponding cylinder centerline with a ‘figure 8’ motion instead of moving along the cylinder centerline. In the compression process model, the system of governing equations is solved, which incorporates a valve sub-model, leakage sub-model and gas pulsation sub-model. The classical 4th order Runge-Kutta method and Broyden’s method are employed to solve the non-linear system of equations to find the in-cylinder refrigerant state (temperature, pressure) at each rotational angle of the machine driving shaft. The variations of suction and discharge valve movements with respect to driving shaft rotational angle are also given. The values of the cylinder wall temperature, the actual suction and discharge temperatures in the connecting pipes are required to initiate the solving of the compression process model. These temperatures are solved simultaneously by incorporating the overall energy balance model with the compression process model. A lumped temperature assumption is employed in the overall energy balance model to assume there is no temperature gradient in each compressor component at steady-state. The dynamics model, which focuses on the frictional power loss, uses the in-cylinder refrigerant pressure determined from the solution of the compression process model.